Sainsbury’s reduces costs by relieving grid stress
Two Sainsbury’s distribution centres are piloting a system to temporarily reduce the use of electricity during times of stress on the National Grid. In return, the National Grid pays for these demand reductions, giving Sainsbury’s a revenue stream for managing its energy consumption more intelligently.
The system was designed by KiWi Power and has been installed at the Hams Hall depot near Birmingham and the Waltham Point depot on the outskirts of London.
About 10% of the UK electrical capacity comes from peaking power stations, which are highly polluting and expensive to run. National Grid uses them to satisfy peaks in demand and avoid blackouts.
The operational and financial results are being reviewed, and it is expected that the demand-response solution will be installed in more depots.
Allen Macadam, Sainsbury’s logistics change project manager, said, ‘There has been no change to the day-to-day operation within the two pilot depots, and we have managed to implement the solution without requiring any investment.’
